Truffles are undoubtedly a symbol of luxury and a delicacy that people can never be satisfied with. Grocery stores sell various truffle products, and restaurants sell truffle chips, truffle noodles, and truffle chips. But if truffles are so expensive, one might wonder why some are relatively cheap. The world’s largest white truffle sells for $61,000, according to Business Insider. They can cost upwards of $300,000. They require good quality truffle boxes to pack them in.
All truffles are grown in the same way, but there are wide different varieties of truffles in the world. Typical different varieties include Winter White, Winter Black, Musk Black, China Black, Himalayan Black, Summer Black, Autumn Black, and White Truffle. There are wide other varieties and subspecies, not all of which are worth eating. Although they are edible, some truffles taste terrible or not at all. So, just because a product has the word “truffle” on it, it doesn’t mean it’s a tasty product. That’s why truffle oil is one of professional chefs’ 13 most hated ingredients.
Why Are Truffles So Expensive?
Truffles are expensive for different reasons due to their uniqueness. First, they’re not something that people can easily plant, cultivate, or harvest; they’re wild and can be picky about where they grow. Truffles generally grow in moist areas with warm days and cool nights. According to Boston Magazine, they also like to expand on certain types of trees, such as oaks, pines, and hazelnuts.
The Italian and French countryside is growing, but some varieties can also be developed in the Pacific Northwest and Australia. They are also slow-growing and have short seasons that don’t last long once off the ground. Some truffle varieties take four to six years to grow.
However, not all truffles are created equal. The black truffle is the most affordable because it has a more extended season, can be frozen, and is available in smaller quantities than other truffles. You can find options as exciting and affordable as these truffles. On the other hand, white truffles are rarer, have shorter seasons, do not freeze quickly, and have a heavier flavor, so they are more expensive. According to CNN, the price of white truffles in Europe can reach $3,600 a pound.
Top 4 Reasons why Truffle Is Expensive
There Are Few Varieties.
One of the reasons truffles are so expensive is that there are few valuable varieties. Two types are considered the best in truffles: black truffles and white truffles. White truffle is highly valued for its strong taste and aroma. Therefore, there are only two kinds of valuable truffles, both very expensive.
They are scarce. Other truffles exist, but they don’t have the flavor and aroma of black or white truffles. If you find a truffle in your area, it’s unlikely to be a black or white truffle. There are only a few in the world, which limits their availability. Demand for truffles is always high.
Black and white truffles are expensive due to low supply and the inability to meet high demand. Truffles are expensive because there are only two kinds of truffles that are worth cooking: black truffles and white truffles.
Hard To Get
Truffle hunters display freshly dug summer truffles with a traditional truffle shovel. Even if you know this is the growing area for black or white truffles, it’s hard to find them. It is because truffles grow underground. It is a fungus that prefers certain soil conditions and grows under certain types of trees.
Unless you’re lucky, they’re hard to spot with the human eye. Pigs are traditionally used to track truffles. Pigs are foragers, so they are naturally able to detect food underground. They also often sniff out tree roots, worms, and fungi in the water.
Finding truffles is very complicated and time-consuming. If truffles aren’t grown, you’ll have to look for them in the wild. They can appear anywhere underfoot. The complexity of truffle hunting makes it expensive.
Harvest Complications
A white man shows a basket of black truffles. Truffles are expensive because they are difficult to harvest in the wild. Even if a pig or dog finds the truffles, the selectors don’t know where they are because they are underground. For this reason, they must be dug out carefully. In the end, it is not possible to pierce the truffle directly.
This process is often time-consuming, as some truffles must be dug to reach the quota. The money earned from selling truffles reflects the time it takes to hunt and my truffles. Because harvesting truffles takes time and effort, truffles are expensive.
Scale.
The price of a truffle is also based on its size. Truffles come in different sizes. The bigger the truffle, the more flavor it provides, and the more truffle the chef can use, which means a higher price with 2 piece rigid gift boxes. Farmers and collectors have no idea how big their truffles will be or what they will find in nature.
Small pieces of truffles are also valuable but don’t add much weight to the overall product. More giant truffles add to the product’s overall weight, so most people prefer more giant truffles. It means that the cost of the product is higher. Most cooks buy truffles by the pound.
